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Title

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (COMMONWEALTH EMPLOYMENT) AMENDMENT BILL 2005

In Committee

Database

Senate Hansard

Date

09-10-2006

Source

Senate

Parl No.

41

Electorate

Western Australia

Interjector

 

Page

102

Party

AD

Presenter

 

Status

Final

Question No.

 

Questioner

 

Responder

 

Speaker

Murray, Sen Andrew

Stage

In Committee

Type

 

Context

BILLS

System Id

chamber/hansards/2006-10-09/0134


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Monday, 9 October 2006
Page: 102


Senator MURRAY (8:24 PM) —by leave—I move together Australian Democrat amendments (2), (5), (7), (9), (10), (12), (13) and (14):

(2)    Schedule 1, item 12, page 6 (after line 5), after subsection 16A(1), insert:

           (1A)   In developing or varying health and safety management arrangements, an employer must comply with any relevant provision in a paragraph 16(3)(c) agreement.

           (1B)   An employer must negotiate a paragraph 16(3)(c) agreement and implement the agreement into health and safety management arrangements if:

                      (a)   a majority of employees, determined by ballot and in writing, require an agreement; or

                      (b)   a certified agreement is in operation specifying provisions for developing a health and safety management arrangement.

(5)    Schedule 1, item 15, page 9 (line 2), at the end of subsection 24(3), add:

         ; and (c)     the employer must comply with the provisions of a paragraph 16(3)(c) agreement when varying designated work groups.

(7)    Schedule 1, item 18, page 10 (after line 11), after subsection 25A(1), insert:

           (1A)   An employer arranging the invitation of nominations or election in accordance with subsection (1) must comply with any relevant provisions of a paragraph 16(3)(c) agreement.

(9)    Schedule 1, item 18, page 10 (line 20), at the end of subsection 25A(4), add “and the employer arranging the election must comply with any relevant provisions in a paragraph 16(3)(c) agreement”.

(10)  Schedule 1, item 19, page 11 (line 26) to page 12 (line 4), omit the section, substitute:

26  Term of office

A health and safety representative for a designated work group holds office for 2 years or in accordance with a paragraph 16(3)(c) agreement.

(12)   Schedule 1, page 12 (after line 30), after item 22, insert:

22A  At the end of section 31

Add:

(5)   An employer that is notified under subsection (2) or (3) must comply with any relevant provisions of a paragraph 16(3)(c) agreement.

(13)   Schedule 1, item 24, page 13 (line 9), at the end of subclause 33(2A), add “and an employer arranging for the invitation of nominations as part of an election must comply with any relevant provisions in a paragraph 16(3)(c) agreement”.

(14)   Schedule 1, item 25, page 13 (after line 26), after subsection 34(1), insert:

(1A)   A health and safety committee must be established in accordance with any relevant provision of a paragraph 16(3)(c) agreement.

This group of amendments deals with the relationships between section 16(3)(c) agreements and other provisions in the act. We think that these need to be clearly spelt out to ensure that agreements between the employer and the employees as determined in paragraph (3)(c) have sufficient authority and cannot be unilaterally ignored by an employer. Our reading of the bill is that an employer could be able to walk away from a safety agreement. If our reading is accurate, we think that is wrong and that would seriously undermine safety standards.

Amendment (2) ensures that if a majority of employees choose to have a health and safety agreement then management has to sit down with them and negotiate one and that there should be an onus on the employer to implement the safety agreement and to fully comply with it, otherwise it can be rendered meaningless. This addresses a principle of collective bargaining. There are those who believe that collective bargaining should involve everyone. That is always, I think, impractical except in very small workplaces. Therefore I think a majority of workers are entitled to be able to determine matters such as a broad health and safety agreement so that it cannot be held up by one or two people who might disagree. It is hard to understand, if our reading of the bill is correct, why the government would want an employer to be able to walk away from a safety agreement and refuse to implement or comply with it.

Amendments (5), (7), (9), (10), (12), (13) and (14) ensure that the employer complies with section 16(3)(c) agreements with respect to varying the work group, electing health and safety representatives, the length of office of a health and safety representative, the resignation of a health and safety representative, and the establishment of the health and safety committee. In other words, they are tightening measures designed, in our view, to improve the operability of this legislation.